


coloring book (oh maybe maybe)

by melondrops (daybreakfiction)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Face Painting, High School AU, M/M, chenle has a non-speaking role, lowkey slow burn highkey bad writing, taeyong jaehyung jungwoo doyoung and taeil are all extremely minor characters, there's slight markhyuck but not enough to be worthy of the tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 05:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14157597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daybreakfiction/pseuds/melondrops
Summary: huang renjun is in the art club and gets assigned to run a face painting booth for his school festival with his lovely best friend, lee donghyuck. he gets introduced to a certain someone along the way and then everything else falls into place.





	coloring book (oh maybe maybe)

**Author's Note:**

> TAKE TWO  
> oh my god i nearly lost this fic when i was posting it the first time  
> i lost 1k words and had to rewrite parts but anYWAYS  
> this fic was originally supposed to be 6k but look where i am now
> 
> like always, my grammar and spelling are not 100% correct  
> like always, idk what a beta is

 If anyone were to ask Huang Renjun what his favorite hobby was, the Chinese boy would definitely say that it was painting. His mother and father liked to say that he was ' _born with talent_ ' and a ' _natural Picasso_ ', but Renjun didn't believe his abilities were that good. His parents were likely just being biased towards their son. He just liked to paint landscapes and occasionally he would step up his game and paint portraits of his family members. In fact, there was a giant canvas in his family's home that had Renjun's most prized painting, which was a painting of his parents on their wedding day. They had saved the picture in a photo album and Renjun adored the picture, so naturally he wanted to paint it. 

Thanks to his love of painting, Renjun was able to join the art club in his school. He went to a local public high school that was down the street from his own home. His neighbor, Lee Donghyuck, also attended the same high school. They were in the same grade and even in the same homeroom class. They had been best friends ever since they were in elementary school together. 

Donghyuck was artistic in the way that Renjun wasn't. 

He was a natural dancer and performer. He liked to sing and act as well, but Donghyuck's strong suit truly was dancing. He wanted to establish a dance club at their school, but there weren't that many people interested in it, so he joined the art club with Renjun instead. He was a decent painter, so none of the other members of the club had any problems with him.  

"Hey, did you hear about the school festival that's coming up?" Donghyuck asked him one day as they were walking to school. The two seniors were walking together, just like they did every morning. It was a particularly cold day in the middle of February, so Renjun was wearing a scarf that was fluffy enough to cover half of his face. Donghyuck, on the other hand, was only wearing a beanie. His cheeks were flushed pink from the cold and Renjun wished he had an extra scarf to share with his friend. Luckily for the two students, it wasn't snowing. The last time it had snowed, Donghyuck had started a snow fight that ended up getting both of them sick. Renjun was not pleased with missing school for a week. 

"Isn't that in like March?" Renjun's reply was slightly muffled by his scarf, but his best friend was able to understand what he said.  

"I heard it was happening in either March or April. The school is planning on inviting the students from the private high school across town." Donghyuck said, wrinkling his nose as he mentioned the other high school. 

There were two high schools, one private and the other public, that were located in the town they lived in. The students that attended the private high school naturally came from families that were well-off and wealthy, which was one of the reasons why Donghyuck disliked the school. He thought the students of the private school were all spoiled brats. 

"But doesn't Mark hyung attend that school?" Renjun had once said, thinking about his other neighbor.  

Mark Lee was a year older than Renjun and Donghyuck, but he had taken a gap year after his last year of middle school to live in Canada. He used to be close friends with both Renjun and Donghyuck when they were in elementary school and middle school, however something about him changed once his parents enrolled him in the private high school. Rarely did Renjun ever see Mark, except for the times when they would talk to each other from their windows which were directly across from each other. Donghyuck, unfortunately, wasn't able to join in on their little chats.  

"Yeah, that's why I don't like that school." Donghyuck's snark reply only made Renjun laugh. He just missed Mark and he was too shy to admit it. 

Renjun sniffled as he returned his attention back to the present. Walking to school only took about ten minutes, so the two seniors arrived in no time. As they entered the building, Renjun carefully peeled his scarf back and he folded it nicely before placing it in his backpack. Donghyuck kept his beanie on until someone else reached out to pull it off his head. 

"Jisung! Be nice to your hyung!" Donghyuck complained as a taller student just laughed. Park Jisung was a junior at their school that had unexpectedly hit a growth spurt right before the school year started, making him taller than both Renjun and Donghyuck. He often used his height to tease Donghyuck, who was an extremely easy target. Not a day went by without the two bickering in the hallways of their school. 

"That’s what you guys get for going to the arcade without me!" Jisung stuck his tongue out, mocking his older friends even more. Donghyuck let out a shriek and tried to grab the junior, but Jisung was faster and he side-stepped Donghyuck's attempted attack. 

Renjun sighed, watching as his friends caused a scene in the middle of the hallway. He had thought that becoming a senior would make Donghyuck more mature, but clearly that was not the case.  

It was okay though, in Renjun's opinion. He wouldn't have Donghyuck in any other way besides the way he was now. 

 

 

- 

 

 

After a long day of non-stop classes, Renjun and Donghyuck made their way to the school's art studio that was located on the very top floor. It was a large studio that had the capacity of a least forty students with canvases. The art club typically met in the studio once or twice a week, working on artwork for exhibitions or even just the halls of the schools.  

Renjun had seven paintings that were in the school. One was in the head master's office and the others were in the hallways in various parts of the school. The painting that he had done for the head master was simply just a painting of the front of the school, but the head master apparently loved it enough to place it in his office. He was quite proud of the painting. 

"What do you think they're going to make the art club do for the school festival?" Donghyuck whispered as they entered the studio. This was the only place where Donghyuck would keep quiet because he didn't want to disturb the other members as they were working. However, Renjun and Donghyuck were the only two students in the art studio at the moment, so that meant Donghyuck could be as loud as he wanted. 

"Probably just paint backgrounds, like we always do." Renjun replied as he walked over to his locker in the studio. Each member had a small locker where they would keep their supplies and Renjun's was full of his precious paint. Donghyuck's locker was a mess, but somehow he managed to keep track of his supplies inside of it.  

A soft knock on the door caused Renjun and Donghyuck to both look up from their supplies. Normally, people would just walk into the studio without announcing their arrival, so this meant whoever was on the other side of the door was not a member of the art club. 

"Come in?" Donghyuck called out, phrasing it more like a question than a command. The door opened an it revealed a young man, who both students immediately recognized to be their History teacher, Lee Taeyong. 

"Oh good! Just the two students I was looking for." The teacher smiled and walked into the studio, slowly approaching the two students. Renjun had never seen their History teacher in the art studio, so he was quite curious about what exactly he was going to say to them. It must have been important, considering the fact that he was actually looking for them. 

"Is anything wrong, sir?" Renjun said as he set up his canvas in the middle of the room. Donghyuck did the same, but he opted to set his up his canvas on Renjun's right side.  

"Not really, but I have a request for you two for the school festival." Their teacher said, walking over to look at his students.  

"Are we going to be making backgrounds for the school festival?" Donghyuck asked, looking up at the History teacher, who merely shook his head. The teacher glanced at Renjun's canvas and was quite impressed with the painting he was working on. It was a simply painting of a forest, but there was so much depth in the painting that Taeyong felt as if he was entering the forest through the canvas. It was only half finished, but the teacher was interested in what the painting would look like when it was complete. 

"No, but since we're inviting the other school over to our campus, we thought it would be a good idea to have a face painting booth! You two were both recommended by the art club's supervisor to run the booth." The teacher said, causing Donghyuck to completely drop his paintbrush. Luckily for him, the paintbrush didn't have any paint on it, or else he would have made a mess. 

" _Face painting_? You want to reduce Renjun's talent down to just  _face painting_?!" Donghyuck cried out, more offended for Renjun than he was for himself.  

Renjun just smiled at his friend's reaction before gently patting Donghyuck's shoulder, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with having me do face painting. At least I don't have to stress about working on a giant mural or something." 

Donghyuck huffed and sat back down in his seat, staying silent as he focused his attention back to his canvas. He didn't want to get into any more trouble, so he kept his mouth shut.  

"I'll let you guys know more about the details when the head master decides it. Oh, and you'll be getting some extra credit points for this. Thanks guys!" Taeyong left the art studio, leaving the two students alone.  

"A face painting booth? That's so childish." Donghyuck grumbled as he starting mixing two shades of blue on his paint palette. He had been working on a project for his sketching class for the last three weeks, so today was the first time he would be able to paint again. 

The other senior just laughed, shaking his head a bit. "Face painting isn't childish at all. Besides, we can make the paintings as realistic as we want since we're not painting on the faces of children."  

Renjun was actually quite interested in face painting since he had not done it before. Painting on a canvas was probably a lot easier than painting on someone's face. So many things could go wrong when face painting, in Renjun's opinion. The person could sneeze half-way through the painting, therefore ruining all of the paint. The paint could melt off of the person's face, if it was hot enough. Renjun could go on and on about the possibilities that could happen with face painting. 

"I wonder if anyone will even be interested in face painting. Most kids our age just go to the game booths and food booths." Donghyuck said. Renjun knew that Donghyuck had a point, but that didn’t change the fact that they were now on charge of a face painting booth at the school festival.   

“Have you ever painted on someone’s face?” Renjun asked, glancing at his best friend.  

“Nope.” Donghyuck replied as a wide grin speed across his face. This meant that Renjun and Donghyuck were going to have to practice on each other before the school festival.  

Renjun only hoped Donghyuck didn’t paint anything obscene on his face.  

 

 

- 

 

 

“ _Dude_ , what the hell is on your face?!” 

Renjun winced at how loud Mark was being. It was already late at night and the two were having their little chat from their windows. There was a small gap between their houses that was about ten feet, so it was easy for the two to talk and hear each other.  

“Donghyuck thought it was a great idea to use acrylic paint instead of face paint. I can’t get it off!” Renjun cried out as he nearly threw his upper body outside of his window. From across the small gap, Mark let out a blaring laugh and he pointed at Renjun, only making the other boy feel more embarrassed.  

"I can't believe he painted that on your face! That's horrible!" Mark yelled as tears started to form in his eyes. He clearly found the whole situation hilarious, much to Renjun's dismay.  

Donghyuck had painted something incredibly obscene on Renjun's cheek, even though he had promised not to. Renjun should have known better than to trust Donghyuck near his face with a paintbrush. 

Renjun sighed, letting Mark have his moment of laughter before speaking again, "Hey, your school is coming to our festival, right?"  

Mark's laughter eventually faded and the older boy just nodded his head as a wide smile spread across his face. The other high school student was quite excited to visit the public high school, especially because his friends were having their own booth.  

"Me and my friends are definitely going to be visiting your booth, Renjun. Hopefully Donghyuck doesn't try to paint  _that_ on my face though." Mark said, still snickering at Renjun's face.  

"Your friends aren't stuck-up brats, are they?" Renjun said as he leaned his elbows on his window sill. Mark mimicked his actions, staring over at the other high school student.  

Mark shook his head, smiling at Renjun's question, "No, I'm friends with the nice kids at school. I think you'd really like them, actually. They're super smart, just like you."  

Renjun smiled at the compliment and nodded his head, feeling happy that Mark was actually coming to the school festival. It was a good opportunity to spend some time with him after being apart for so long. 

"I've got an English exam tomorrow, so I'm going to head back in and study." Mark said as he started to close his window. Renjun waved his friend goodbye before going the same with his own window. The artist carefully tugged on his curtains, covering it slowly.  

Hopefully, Renjun would be able to wash off the paint from his face in the morning.  

 

 

- 

 

 

The next morning, Renjun successfully ignored Donghyuck for about an hour before his best friend started to yell hysterically in the hallways of their school. He kept yelling about how "his best friend hates him" and that "he deserves better than a bad friend like him". Jisung recorded the whole dramatic incident on his cellphone, laughing during the entire duration. When Renjun asked what he was going to do with the video, Jisung just smiled and said something about using it as blackmail. 

It was especially difficult to ignore Donghyuck during their homeroom class since they were seatmates. Donghyuck kept poking Renjun's arm with his pencil and he also kept writing on the margins of Renjun's notebook. Renjun adored his best friend greatly, but sometimes he was just too much for him to handle.  

"Okay, I forgive you already. Can you please shut up?" Renjun said as he pushed his falling glasses up his nose. He was getting tired of having people stare at him in the hallways, despite it being a daily occurrence. 

"I'm sorry for using acrylic on you! I promise not to do it ever again!" Donghyuck said, pulling Renjun into a tight hug. Renjun sighed, letting his friend have his way. 

The rest of their school day went on as normal, which meant that Renjun and Donghyuck only saw each other in their homeroom class, History, and English. They had different schedules for the rest of their classes.  

During his Chemistry class, Renjun started thinking about the conversation he had with Mark the night before. He had never actually met Mark's friends, since they typically didn't hang out at his house. Mark lived pretty far from the private school, so his parents had to drive him to school. He never had the chance to meet Mark's friends.  

He was sure that they weren't stuck-up brats like what Donghyuck originally thought. Mark didn't seem like the person to associate with those kinds of people anyway. He was always a good person.  

"Renjun, can you come up to the board and finish this stoichiometry question for us?" His teacher's voice sudden broke his train of thoughts and Renjun nodded his head as he started standing from his seat. He was pretty good at chemistry, so the problem was easy for him to solve.  

"Perfect, like always. Good job, Renjun." His chemistry teacher, Moon Taeil, smiled at the result and Renjun returned to his seat.  

The young senior successfully managed to daydream for the remainder of his chemistry class and his teacher never called on him to answer another question. Once the class was over, Renjun carefully packed his things back into his backpack before leaving the class.  

Donghyuck and Jisung were waiting for him outside, just like they always did. Jisung smiled at the sight of Renjun, immediately irking the senior. 

"What?" Renjun said slowly, not liking the mischievous smile on the junior's face.  

"I heard about your face painting booth! I also heard that kids from the other high school are coming here, which means you can meet my friend from China!" Jisung exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air to celebrate. Donghyuck laughed from beside Jisung, before elbowing him in the stomach. 

"But Renjun  _is_ your friend from China!" 

"I meant my other friend! I met him last year at my cousin's choir recital at the other school." Jisung smiled and the three started walking down the hallway together. Renjun and Donghyuck had to go to the art studio, and on the other hand, Jisung was just going to go home. He wasn't a part of any club at school because he didn't find any of them interesting enough to join. He had wanted to join the dance club Donghyuck was going to establish, but sadly just having two members wasn't allowed.  

After saying goodbye to the junior, Renjun and Donghyuck entered the art studio together quietly. This time, there were a few other students inside and they were all working on various pieces. Some were working on school projects and some were simply working on pieces for fun. The art club was very lenient with its members. 

"I heard you two got picked for the face painting booth. You guys are so lucky you don't have to work on the backgrounds for the play that the drama club is performing." A member whose name Renjun failed to remember said as they walked in.  

"Yeah, but we're going to be so bored throughout the day. What high school kid wants to get their face painted?" Donghyuck retorted as he opened his small locker to take out his supplies. Renjun watched as his friend took out a case of watercolor pencils, feeling a bit surprised at Donghyuck's choice of medium. Donghyuck hated watercolor pencils. 

"Maybe some teachers will bring their kids to the festival, you never know." Renjun said, taking his paint out of his locker. He only ever used paint because he was scared of change.  

Donghyuck just pouted his lips, saying nothing in reply because he knew Renjun was right. The two started working on their separate pieces silently, only ever talking to ask the other's opinion on their progress. Donghyuck was starting a portrait of someone and Renjun was working on the painting he had promised to give to his mother for her office. Painting a forest as easy, but he wanted to add in as much detail as he possibly could. It would make his mother happy.  

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Renjun leaned closer to his friend and whispered, "Who are you making this portrait of and why are you using watercolor pencils?"  

"This is a surprise, okay? I'm not telling you anything about this." Donghyuck pushed Renjun's face away as gently as he could and the Chinese boy just sighed, knowing that Donghyuck would never tell him anything no matter how much he begged.  

The two students fell back into a comfortable silence, working on their pieces at their own paces. Renjun kept sneaking glances at Donghyuck's portrait, but there wasn't enough detail for him to be able to tell who it was. 

"How are my lovely art club members doing?" A voice exclaimed as the door to the art studio opened abruptly. Renjun peaked over the top of his canvas and saw the art club's supervisor, Jung Yoonoh, who typically went by the nickname of Jaehyun. He was technically the school's director of academics, but he wanted to be the art club's supervisor as well because he knew how talented some of the students were.  

"Your favorite art club member is doing fine!" Donghyuck chimed, waving his watercolor pencils around to catch the director's attention. Jaehyun smiled and walked over to where Renjun and Donghyuck were working. Donghyuck liked to call himself Jaehyun's "favorite art club member", however everyone in the club knew that it was actually Renjun who was the favorite.  

"Taeyong hyung  told you guys about the face panting booth, right? I'm excited to see how well you do." Jaehyun said, placing his hand on top of Renjun's head. He did the same to Donghyuck.  

"Yes, he told us about it already. What day is the school festival anyway? Our teachers haven't told us much about it." Renjun said softly, trying his best to concentrate on his painting. 

"Oh, it's going to be on March 23rd."  

Both Renjun and Donghyuck froze for a moment before glancing at each other.  

March 23rd was Renjun's birthday. 

 

 

- 

 

 

One week later, Renjun and Donghyuck had somehow managed to master the art of face painting. It took hours after school of practice along with multiple packs of face paint, but the two had successfully learned all that there is to face painting. They had practice on each other and also Jisung for the last few days. Luckily Donghyuck was nice enough to paint flowers on Renjun's face, rather than what he had painted before. Jisung, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Donghyuck had painted the words "Lee Donghyuck is the best!" across the junior's cheek and Jisung had no idea for a few hours. 

Renjun had a started sketching some designs in an extra sketchbook he had. He was capable of painting a tiger's face, a butterfly, and some other animals. Donghyuck was particularly skilled at painting flowers, so he decided on concentrating on floral designs.  

"Renjun! Renjun!"  

The young man blinked, hearing his neighbor's voice call him from outside of his window. Renjun quickly made his way over to the window and he drew the curtains back, spotting Mark waving from his hand to catch his attention.  

"What's up Mark hyung?" Renjun said after he opened his window. He could see that there were two other people in Mark's room, however he wasn't exactly sure who they were. They were playing a video game together.  They were facing away from the window, so Renjun wasn't able to get a clear look at their faces. 

"Are you busy? Do you want to come over and hang out?" Mark said, slightly leaning out of his window. He was still wearing his school uniform, even though it was already way into the evening.  

Renjun hesitated for a moment, knowing that he had to wake up early to get to the art studio before his first class. He really wanted to hang out with Mark, just like how they did in the past. However, he also knew that it would probably be awkward, hanging out with Mark's friends who he had never met before. 

"Mark, who are you talking to?" One of Mark's friends said as he jumped onto Mark's back. Renjun watched as Mark stumbled a bit from the young man's weight, trying his best to suppress his laughter. Mark wasn't exactly the strongest person. It was easy to see that Mark was struggling to carry the weight of his friend on his back. 

"This is Renjun, my extremely artistic friend from the other high school I told you about." Mark said, introducing Renjun to the other boy.  

"And this is Jeno, my friend from school. Jaemin's inside, playing Pokemon." Mark said, pointing at both Jeno and Jaemin.  

Renjun smiled politely over at Jeno, who smiled back as well. Jeno was cute, in Renjun's opinion. He had black hair that was swept up, showing off his forehead and an eye smile that Renjun really wanted to stare at all day. It wasn't the first time Renjun felt attracted to a boy, but he could definitely say that Jeno was the most attractive person he had ever met.  Something about Jeno seemed so ethereal and it made Renjun's heart want to do flips. 

"Renjun? _The_ Huang Renjun?!" Another voice exclaimed and Jaemin, Mark's other friend, appeared in the window as well.  

"Wait, do you two know each other?" Mark said, looking back and forth between Renjun and Jaemin. 

"Yes, kind of. I went to an art exhibit with Jungwoo hyung last week and our favorite piece was a painting of a house on a countryside in China. It was named 'Home'. Hyung started crying after he stared at the painting for too long." Jaemin said, sneaking a peek at the artist in the other window.  

Renjun smile widened a bit more, "I'm glad you liked that painting! Sorry about making your friend cry about it though."  

"It's okay, Jungwoo hyung's just a crybaby. So are you really from China?" Jaemin said, pushing Mark out of the way to make room for himself on the window sill.  

"I was born in China, but I moved here when I was four years old. That painting is one of my earliest memories of China." Renjun said, reminiscing about the painting. He had originally painted it for a project for his Advanced Art class, but Jaehyun had liked the painting so much that he submitted it to a local art exhibit for viewing. Renjun was surprised the painting was even considered good enough to be in a local exhibit.  

"That's so cool! Mark hyung said you're going to have a face painting booth at your school's festival. Can you paint on our faces too?" Jeno said, leaning out of the window a bit. Renjun could feel his face blushing under his gaze, but he nodded his head slowly. 

"Yeah, of course. Donghyuck and I would be happy to paint for your guys." Renjun replied, starting to feel uncomfortable because of the three pairs of eyes staring at him.  

Since they had been friends for so long, Mark was able to sense Renjun's discomfort from a mile away and he quickly pushed Jeno and Jaemin back into his room before grinning at Renjun, "I'll talk to you hopefully tomorrow. Bye Renjun!" 

Renjun waved his hand, saying goodbye as Mark closed his window. Jeno and Jaemin were also waving their hands in Renjun's direction and the young artist smiled at them. They both seemed to be very friendly and nice, so Renjun was sure Donghyuck would like them.  

Jeno seemed to be excited about the face painting booth. 

Renjun wondered what he could paint on his face. 

 

 

- 

 

 

"Do you want to tell me why you've been spacing out so much today?"  

Renjun nearly tripped over his own foot as Donghyuk's voice brought him out of his daydream. They were walking together to the school cafeteria for lunch, where Jisung was already waiting for them. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Renjun replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. He really needed to get those fixed. They had loosened up around his nose, causing them to constantly fall down the bridge of his nose. It was annoying. 

"You weren't paying attention to me at all. I was talking about what we should do for your birthday. We have the school festival during the day, but we can throw you a party with some friends after that." Donghyuck said as he gently bumped his hips into Renjun's. Renjun knew that Donghyuck was going to ask about his birthday because he was quite fond of parties and social events. He was a bit more social than Renjun was. 

"I guess that would be nice. My parents are working late on my birthday, so we're going out for dinner together during the weekend." Renjun said, thinking of his parents. They both apologized when they found out they were working late on his 18th birthday, but he really didn't mind. Turning 18 wasn't a big deal for him.  

"We can invite Jisung and Mark hyung, if you want. I think I can sit through one dinner with Mark hyung."  

Renjun rolled his eyes, knowing that Donghyuck was still only putting up a front because he didn't want Renjun to know how much he actually missed Mark.  

"That sounds like a plan. Maybe we can hang out and see a movie together before getting dinner." Renjun hummed softly once they reached the cafeteria. He pushed the swinging door open that lead to the inside of the spacious cafeteria. Other students were making their way around the cafeteria, either buying food or trying to find a vacant table to sit at. Jisung's mother always made his lunch, so he was able to save time and find a table faster than Renjun and Donghyuck, who bought their lunch from the cafeteria every day. 

The two seniors quickly bought their lunch, Donghyuck wanted pizza and Renjun bought two muffins, before making their way over to the table Jisung was waiting at. 

"That's all you're eating?" Jisung asked with a mouthful of food. Renjun grimaced at the sight before passing his younger friend a tissue to cover his mouth with.  

"I had a big breakfast. I'm fine." Renjun said as he unwrapped his blueberry muffin. He took a small bite of it, making sure it was as tasty as it seemed.  

"We were talking about what to do for Renjun's birthday in three weeks. We'll be at school all day for the festival, but we can hang out afterwards." Donghyuck took a bite out of his pizza and stared at the junior, waiting for his reaction. 

"Sounds like a plan for me. What do you want for your birthday this year, Renjun hyung?" Jisung asked, chewing with his mouth open. Renjun sighed at Jisung's bad table manners. He was never going to change. 

"Any art supplies would be nice. You know I always want those." Renjun replied, a small smile gracing his lips. Last year, both Donghyuck and Jisung saved money to get him a limited edition paint set. Only one hundred sets were made and somehow, they managed to buy one. Renjun nearly cried at the sight of them when he had unwrapped the gift.  

Renjun liked to use them for his personal paintings. There were a few canvases he kept in his closet of works he had yet to show anyone. Those all used the special paint from his friends. 

"I want to get you something special this year! Do you want a boyfriend?" Jisung said, shocking both Donghyuck and Renjun.  

Renjun choked on his blueberry muffin and Jisung passed him his bottle of water with a sheepish smile on his face. 

"First of all, how did you know I liked guys? Second of all,  _no_." Renjun said after taking a few sips of water. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, still surprised at what Jisung had just asked him. 

"Remember that sleepover we had during winter break? You talked in your sleep, hyung. You were talking about the cute boy that you saw at the park that day." Jisung pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Renjun's cheeks blushed at the newfound information. He had no idea he was a sleep talker. 

The artist turned to Donghyuck, cheeks still ablaze, "Did you know about this?" 

"That you were into guys? Yes." 

" _No_!I meant did you know that I was a sleep talker!"  

Donghyuck's reply was a lazy shrug, causing Renjun to drop his head onto the hard plastic table they were seated at. He couldn't deny it now, especially because of how strongly he reacted. He felt Donghyuck patting his head softly, as if to calm him down. 

"It's nothing to worry about, Renjun. I like boys too." Donghyuck's voice said calmly, but Renjun just snorted. He knew his best friend was only trying to cheer him up. 

"Didn't you have a crush on Hina last year? What about her?" Jisung said, recalling Donghyuck's short lived crush on the other senior. Renjun glanced up to stare at his blushing friend and a grin spread across his face.  

"Okay, I guess I can say that I like boys and girls." Donghyuck said, looking around the cafeteria for his former crush. He spotted her instantly and smiled a bit at the sight of her. Renjun knew his best friend no longer had a crush on the Japanese exchange student, but he was still quite fond of her.  

The three students continued on with their lunch, never returning back to the subject of Renjun's preferences. He felt relieved to have finally told his friends about it. He really had nothing to worry about. 

As lunch went on, Donghyuck and Jisung kept talking about what to do for Renjun's birthday. Donghyuck had originally suggested watching a movie together, but then Jisung brought of the idea of going bowling instead. They made Renjun choose between the two choices, and much to Donghyuck's dismay, he chose bowling.  

Donghyuck complained for a few minutes, but Renjun promised to buy him ice cream as an apology. His friend was easily swayed at the idea of free ice cream.  

After lunch, the two seniors said goodbye to their younger friend before splitting up to go to their respective classes. Renjun was bored most of the day without his best friend and his lessons were mediocre, so he kept his sketchbook out to do some harmless doodling.  

During his Trigonometry class, Renjun started off by sketching a pair of eyes. They weren't wide open, like what a typical portrait would have. Instead, the eyelids were nearly closed, only being open enough to see a peek of the eyes behind the eyelids. Renjun wasn't exactly sure why he had drawn that particular eye smile, but he didn't have much time to think about either because he soon had to move onto his next class.  

He took out his sketchbook once more as he next class, Art History, started. He could get away with not paying attention in class because the teacher, Kim Dongyoung, was nice to him.  

Renjun concentrated all of his energy into the drawing he had started in his sketchbook. He started to add more details to the mysterious face he was drawing. He outlined the jawline, making it evident enough to show a strong jawline. He made sure to shade everything just right, despite not even knowing who he was drawing.  

As he was drawing, he could feel his teacher's stares in his direction. However, the teacher said nothing to him and simply just let him continue drawing.  

After finishing the jawline, Renjun started off on the drawing the lips. The lips were pressed together in bright smile and curved up at both ends, showing off a cat like smile. Renjun wasn't sure where all of these details were coming from.  

Following the lips, Renjun began sketching the mysterious person's nose. For some reason, he didn't draw a small nose, like he normally did. Instead, he drew a somewhat larger nose than his own, thinking that it fit the face a lot more than a button nose.  

The bell interrupted his sketching, so he quickly packed up his things to walk over to his final class of the day, Sketching. Donghyuck had this class earlier in the day and told Renjun that it was a free period, meaning Renjun would have plenty of time to work on the portrait he had started. He sat alone during this particular class, so he was able to have his sketch out in the open without worrying about who would see.  

The sketch was almost complete. Renjun finished off the picture by adding in hair. He wasn't that skilled at drawing hair, but Renjun drew a hairstyle that was common on any person. He gave the person bangs that covered up the forehead, but they were just long enough to reach the person's eyes. Once the sketch was finished, Renjun stared long and hard at it.  

After a few moments, Renjun's jaw dropped at the realization of who had had drawn.  

It was Jeno, Mark's friend he had met the day before.  

Renjun immediately shut his sketchbook, feeling his cheeks warm at the thought of the young man he had met for only a few minutes. He didn’t know what had come over him.  

One thing he knew for sure was that he couldn't let Donghyuck near his sketchbook for the time being. He needed to get rid of the picture of Jeno. 

 

 

- 

 

 

Two weeks quickly passed, and Renjun busied himself with practicing his face painting abilities while also working on a few other paintings in his free time. He managed to finish a painting for his mother, but he was given a task by the art club to paint a map of Asia for submission into another local art exhibit.  

In short, Renjun was busy.  

His birthday had snuck up on him and this year it was on a Friday. All classes were cancelled due to the fact that the school festival was scheduled to last during the entire day. It was still a bit cold outside, so the festival was being held inside in the school gymnasium and in various classrooms in the school. Luckily for the art club, there were no booths or events set up in the art studio. 

"Donghyuck! Did you buy extra sets of face paint? I can only find two sets here." Renjun said, rummaging through a basket of supplies for the face painting booth. Their booth was going to be in a classroom that was close to the gymnasium and they actually had the entire classroom to themselves.  

Donghyuck was sure they were going to be bored the entire day.  

"I brought the other sets down to the classroom already. Calm down." Donghyuck replied as he folded up the two aprons he had brought from home. Working with paint was messy, so his mother packed an apron for her son and his best friend to use to protect their clothes.  

"What's Jisung going to be doing during the festival?" Renjun asked, picking up the basket of supplies. The two seniors made their way to their assigned booth. Donghyuck took out his phone, rereading the text the younger boy had sent earlier in the day. 

"He's going to be with his friend from the other school. He said he's come by the booth to see us so that he can introduce us to his friend too." Donghyuck placed his phone back into his pocket once they reached the empty classroom. The art club had made multiple signs for the two seniors to hopefully get attention for the face painting booth. The signs were all on the outside of the classroom and they brought a small smile to Renjun's face. It was cute. 

The festival was going to start within a matter of thirty minutes, so Renjun and Donghyuck hurried to finish setting up their supplies. They had various colors and shades of paint available for the face painting and they were even given special brushes by the art club. Renjun had prepared a notebook of paintings he was comfortable doing with, but he wasn't going to turn down any special requests. Donghyuck had something similar, except it was a few pages of flowers and floral designs he was capable of doing. 

The school bell rang, signaling the official start of the festival. 

There were many students bustling and walking in the hall. Since Renjun and Donghyuck went to a public school, they didn't have a uniform to wear. The students at the private school, on the other hand, had to wear a simple uniform that consisted of black pants and a white dress shirt. Girls were wearing skirts instead of pants and all students also had the option of wearing a blazer over their shirts.  

The students from the private school were mingling with the other students, which made Renjun smile a bit. They were all just high school kids, so they really didn't have anything different about them.  

After a few minutes, Renjun and Donghyuck got their first "client". It was their History teacher, who was walking around the festival with a few other teachers as well. 

"What do you want us to paint on your face?" Donghyuck said, watching as Taeyong walked in with Jaehyun right behind him.  

"Jaehyun told me that you were good at painting flowers, so how about a flower on my cheek?" Taeyong said, taking a seat across from Donghyuck. 

"Alrighty! Stay still." Donghyuck glanced at his palette, thinking of a possible color combination. Once he decided what kind of flower to paint, he carefully dipped a paintbrush into the face paint.  

Renjun watched as his best friend started to paint on their teacher's face. He glanced up from his seat towards their art director, wondering if he also wanted to get his face painted.  

"I'm okay, Renjun. I have a speech to give later, so I don't think It's a good idea to get my face painted." Jaehyun said, practically reading the student's thoughts. He smiled at Renjun before gently placing his hand on the student's head.  

Donghyuck finished up the painting a few minutes later. He had painted a simple red rose across the teacher's cheek. Renjun was quite impressed with the painting, his friend really was skilled at painting flowers. 

"Thanks Donghyuck! I'll advertise around the festival and tell others to come here." Taeyong fanned his cheek, trying to dry the paint a bit more before he left the classroom with Jaehyun.  

After their teachers left, a few other students came in to have their faces painted as well. Both Renjun and Donghyuck were busy with their task of the day. Donghyuck continued to paint flowers, but Renjun painted more complicated designs such as animals and geometric shapes. Two hours later, after painting for fifteen students, Renjun's hand started to cramp up so the two students took a short break.  

Renjun used up his time to wash his brushed thoroughly, making sure to clean all of the excess paint away. Donghyuck was busy doing something else, typing away on his phone.  

"Knock knock!"  

Both Renjun and Donghyuck looked up from what they were doing, spotting a familiar face at the doorway of the classroom.  

Mark smiled and entered the classroom, dressed in his private school uniform, "Oh, did we catch you guys at a bad time?" 

"We're taking a break, but you can still come in." Donghyuck said softly, glancing at Mark for a moment before looking back down at his phone. Renjun raised an eyebrow at his best friend's sudden change in demeanor but said nothing.  

Mark's smile widened and he took a few more steps into the classroom. Two other private school students walked in as well, and Renjun recognized them to be Jeno and Jaemin. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm about the two newcomers.  

"Renjun, you remember these two, right? Donghyuck, these are my friends Jeno and Jaemin." Mark said, introducing the two other students to Donghyuck. Jeno and Jaemin waved their hands, smiling at both Renjun and Donghyuck.  

Mark and his friends sat on the stools meant for the people that were supposed to be getting their face painted and the five boys sat in an awkward silence with each other. Donghyuck was still looking down at his phone, Renjun was organizing his paint brushes, and the three students form the private school just stared silently. They stayed like that for a few moments before Mark opened his mouth to speak. 

"Oh, isn't today your birthday, Renjun?"  

The birthday boy blinked at the realization of the date. He had been so caught up with the school festival that his birthday actually slipped his mind. It was the first time he had ever forgetten his own birthday. 

"I guess you're right. I can't believe I forgot." Renjun smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. He was now officially an adult. 

"I forgot to say happy birthday to you this morning! I'm so sorry!" Donghyuck exclaimed, latching himself onto his best friend's arm. Renjun just laughed, shaking his arm a bit to get his friend off. 

"It's fine! It's fine! We were both too busy to realize this." Renjun replied once Donghyuck finally released his hold on him.  

"How old are you know?" Jeno asked, staring at Renjun with wide eyes. Renjun could feel himself blush under his gaze, just like when they first met. 

"I'm 18 today! Finally an adult like Mark hyung."  

Jaemin grinned and pointed a finger over towards Jeno, "That means you're exactly a month older than Jeno! He's turning 18 in one month."  

Renjun stared at Jeno for a few moments, feeling a bit shocked that he was actually older than him. Jeno looked much more mature than he did, so he just assumed he was older. Jeno smiled at Renjun before leaning forward a bit, "Can you paint something on my face?"  

"What do you want?" Renjun said softly, avoiding Jeno's gaze.  

Beside Renjun, Donghyuck watched with curious eyes what was happening in front of him. It was painfully obvious that Renjun felt  _something_ for Jeno, but Donghyuck wasn't quite sure if Renjun was aware of it himself. Mark gently poked Donghyuck's cheek, capturing his attention. 

"I want to get my face painted too." Mark pouted his lips, causing Donghyuck to roll his eyes. 

"Okay, but I get to choose what to paint." Donghyuck said, preparing his paint on the palette. Mark scooted his seat a bit closer to Donghyuck's, waiting to be painted on.  

Jeno was still trying to decide on what to get painted on his face, so Renjun deemed it safe to finally stare at the other young man's face. He was very good looking, especially up close. Renjun wasn't sure if his portrait of Jeno was even comparable to the real thing. 

"How about a cat?" Renjun suddenly said, surprising both himself and Jeno. Jeno smiled and immediately nodded his head, liking the idea that Renjun suggested.  

Renjun held his breath when Jeno moved closer to him, leaning in to get nearer to the young artist. As he started the painting, Renjun tried his best to concentrate. It was a simple task, painting a cat, but Jeno just wouldn’t keep still as Renjun worked on his face. He kept wrinkling his nose up, especially when Renjun brought the paintbrush near his lips.  

"Stay still, Jeno. You'll ruin Renjun's work of art." Mark said, glancing at his two friends. Renjun looked over to what Donghyuck was painting on the older boy's cheek and he smiled at the sight of Mark's name painted in petals. Donghyuck was really doing a great job.  

"Sorry Renjun." Jeno mumbled softly, but Renjun just hummed in reply. He knew the paintbrush was probably just tickling his cheek.  

"Did you want to get your face painted too, Jaemin?" Renjun said as he stopped painting on Jeno's cheek for a moment. He needed the paint to dry before he could start again. 

Jaemin shook his head and just grinned, "No, I'm actually allergic to face paint. Maybe you could paint a portrait of me sometime though. I'm sure you'd make me look gorgeous."  

Jeno made a noise of protest, bringing Renjun's attention back to him. Jaemin also turned to his friend, raising an eyebrow at Jeno's strange behavior. Mark, on the other hand, was obviously trying to stifle his laughter.  

"Okay Jeno, I'll stop making a move. You can have him." Jaemin mumbled softly to himself, but Renjun was able to catch the statement. Jeno glared at Jaemin for a quick moment, but he turned back to Renjun as if nothing had happened at all.  

What did Jaemin mean by that? 

Knowing that he was probably overthinking everything, Renjun focused back on the painting he was working on. He painted the bottom of Jeno's nose black, signifying a cat's nose. Following the nose, Renjun started to draw whiskers, three on each cheek. He tried his best to paint with as much detail as he could, using different shades of colors to brighten the painting on Jeno's face.  

It wasn't long before Renjun finally finished the face painting. As soon as he was finished, he leaned away from Jeno to admire his own work.  

Jeno looked adorable as a cat. Renjun wondered what he would look like wearing cat ears.  

"Nice job, Renjun! Jeno looks cute for the first time in his life." Mark said once Donghyuck finished his painting on his cheek. The way Mark's name was painted was quite colorful and detailed, so Renjun was impressed. He could tell Mark was quite pleased with Donghyuck's painting as well.  

Jeno frowned at Mark's words before taking his phone out, checking out his reflection. He grinned at the sight of his newly painted face and gave Renjun a thumbs up, "This looks amazing! Jaemin was right when he said you were super talented." 

Renjun blushed, shaking his head at the compliment, "This really isn't that great..."  

Jeno smiled even more as Renjun's bashful answer before looking over at what Mark had painted on his cheek. As the two stared at each other's painted faces, Renjun snuck a glance over at his best friend. Donghyuck was smiling fondly in Mark's direction.  

He would definitely have to ask Donghyuck about that later. 

"We're going to check out the rest of the festival. Are we still going bowling later?" Mark said, standing from his seat. Jaemin and Jeno looked a bit confused at what Mark had just said, probably because Renjun hadn't formally invited them yet.  

"Yeah, we're going after the festival ends. You guys are welcome to come with us, if you want." Renjun said, looking over at both Jeno and Jaemin.  

Jaemin sighed softly, "I can't. I have something to do at home later." 

"But I'll go!" Jeno exclaimed, raising his hand excitedly. Renjun smiled at the other boy's enthusiasm and simply nodded his head. 

"Alright, so we'll all meet back here when the festival is over." Donghyuck said, looking back and forth between Renjun and Mark.  

The three private school students then left the classroom, leaving Renjun and Donghyuck alone. As soon as they stepped out of the room, the two young artists turned to each other. 

"Why were you staring at Mark like that?" 

"Do you like Jeno?" 

Renjun blinked and Donghyuck mimicked his actions. The two friends stared at each other silently, as if they were trying to read each other's minds.  

"Answer me first, Donghyuck." 

"No way, I want you to answer  _me_ first!" 

Renjun glared, but Donghyuck was unaffected and didn't back down. Renjun was hardly a threat.  

"Fine. I think Jeno is cute, that's all. I met him a couple weeks ago when he and Jaemin were hanging out at Mark's house." Renjun said, blushing as he started to think about the other boy. Seeing Jeno up close made Renjun's heart feel strange. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. 

"I've never seen you stare at someone like that before, Renjun. I doubt you only think he's cute." Donghyuck replied, throwing his friend a knowing grin. 

Renjun blushed even more and he gently poked his friend's forehead, "I could say the same about you and Mark hyung. I thought you hated him, but I guess I was wrong because clearly that's not the case." 

"I don't hate him... It's actually just the opposite." Donghyuck sighed softly and Renjun caught the notion that it was probably best to drop the subject.  

Before the two had the chance to keep talking, a few people walked into the classroom to get their faces painted. Renjun and Donghyuck were then busy during the rest of the festival, only taking a break when Jisung finally showed up to introduce his friend to them.  

The other boy's name was Chenle and he was a Chinese exchange student at the private high school. Renjun was able to talk freely to Jisung's friend due to the lack of a language barrier. Chenle was a very loud kid, so it was easy to see why Jisung got along with him so well.  

He was also rich. Filthy rich.  

When Chenle found out that it was Renjun's birthday, he joked and said he would buy Renjun a star in space. Jisung told him that Renjun was gullible enough to believe him.  

The two juniors left after getting their faces painted on. Donghyuck painted the sun on Jisung's left cheek and Renjun painted the moon on Chenle's right cheek. It was cute how the two ended up matching with each other.  

The festival finally came to a close hours later and the face painting booth was quite the success. There were more than one hundred people that got their faces painted, which was much more than either painter originally thought. Renjun honestly thought only about fifty people would come to get their faces painted. After the two seniors finished cleaning up their supplies, they waited for Mark and Jeno to return from the festival. It wasn't long until Mark and Jeno appeared in the doorway, both without the face paint that was originally on their cheeks.  

"What happened to the face paint?" Renjun said, pouting a little at the sight of Jeno's bare cheek. He was looking forward to seeing the cat boy again.  

"There was a basketball booth in the gymnasium and we were competing to see who could make the most baskets. We ended up sweating and smearing the paint." Jeno said, chuckling nervously.  

"So who won?" Donghyuck asked, looking between Mark and Jeno. 

"I did. So Mark's going to buy us all food at the bowling alley."  

Renjun smiled and picked up a basket of paint and paint brushes, "We can get going after I bring this basket up to the art studio. You guys can wait here for me."  

The young Chinese artist left the classroom, oblivious to the pair of eyes that were following him. He struggled to carry the basket of supplies, mainly because the hallways were still busy with students leaving the festival. He bumped into a few people a couple times, but luckily he didn't drop the basket.  

The only problem he had to face was the flight of stairs that led up to the art studio. Renjun wasn't exactly the strongest person in the world and his arms were starting to become sore from the weight of the basket. He made it up a few steps before pausing to catch his breathe. He really needed to start working out more.  

"Renjun, did you need some help?" A voice called from behind Renjun. He turned around and saw Jeno standing a few steps below him with a small smile on his face. His eyes were cute crescents, making Renjun nearly swoon at the sight of him. 

"If you don’t mind, yes please." Renjun said, raising the basket a bit in Jeno's direction. Jeno made his way up a few steps before taking the basket from Renjun's hands.  

The two boys walked up the stairs together quietly, trying their best not to run into any other students that were also on the stairway. Renjun kept stealing glances at the other boy, not sure of what to talk about with him. It was nice of Jeno to help him out though. Donghyuck would be happy to hear that Mark's friends from the private high school were just normal kids. Renjun made a mental note to tell Donghyuck that Jeno was actually a gentleman.  

"It's too bad I had to remove the face painting you did for me. I wish it lasted longer." Jeno said, looking over at Renjun once they reached the top of the stairs. Renjun took the lead, walking in the direction towards the art studio. 

"It's okay, maybe I'll have the chance to paint on your face again." Renjun said softly as they reached the art studio. He opened the door and let Jeno in, letting the private school student admire the empty art studio.  

"I'd like that, actually. You're really talented, you know. Mark and Jaemin were showing me some of your paintings while we were roaming around your school." Jeno handed the basket back over to Renjun and the artist placed it near his locker.  

"Thank you, I hope Mark didn't tell you embarrassing about me though." Renjun said, laughing softly after he placed the basket down. Mark had plenty of embarrassing stories about Renjun, all from when they were in elementary school together.  

"Don't worry, he only said nice things about you. He was really excited about coming to your school festival. He really misses you and Donghyuck." Jeno replied, watching Renjun with a grin on his face.  

Renjun smiled back and the two left the art studio together, walking back over to the staircase they had originally taken to get on the upper floor. Renjun walked ahead of Jeno, who was walking a few feet behind him. He would have been more comfortable with Jeno standing next to him, but he didn't want to say anything outloud. Now was not the best time to make a fool of himself. 

"Hey, I have a question." 

Renjun turned around, looking up at Jeno. The other boy was several steps above him, looking down at his feet. Fortunately for the two of them, the flight of stairs was now empty, leaving the two students alone. 

"Yes, Jeno?" Renjun asked, tilting his head to the side, feeling a bit concerned over what Jeno was about to ask. 

"I know today's your birthday and you made the plans to hang out with your friends, but do you think we can go out sometime? Like just the two of us?" Jeno looked down at his feet, trying to hide his face, but Renjun could clearly see that the other senior was blushing and even his ears were tinged pink.  

"Are you asking me out on a date?" The words escaped Renjun's lips before he had the chance to think of what he was saying. Upon realization of his reply, Renjun gasped and quickly covered his mouth with his two hands. There was no possible way Jeno was  _actually_  asking him out.  

"Yes, I am. I mean, you don’t have to say ye—" 

"I would love to go out with you sometime." Renjun interrupted Jeno midway through his sentence, smiling widely up at the other boy.  

Jeno's eyes immediately formed the cute crescents that Renjun wanted to stare at all day and his face lit up with a bright smile. He nearly stumbled down the stairs as he caught up with Renjun's pace and the two walked back to the classroom together in a comfortable silence. Renjun kept sneaking glances at the other boy, feeling pleased at the smile he had caused.  

Renjun looked forward to seeing more of that beautiful smile.  

 

- 

 

- 

 

- 

 

"Jeno, for the last time, stay still!" 

"It's not my fault the paint brush tickles!"  

"Yeah, but you're the one that wanted to get your face painted on your birthday, so you can't complain." 

Jeno pouted his lips, trying to gain his boyfriend's forgiveness. He knew Renjun was particularly weak against his pouts, so it wasn't long until Renjun finally gave into Jeno's cute behavior.  

"Stop... You're making me want to kiss you." Renjun sighed, bringing his paint brush back up to Jeno's cheek.  

"What's stopping you?" 

"The wet paint on your face." 

Jeno wrinkled up his nose, despite Renjun's  _constant_ reminders to keep still, "Okay, but after this paint dries I want kisses." 

"Alright, birthday boy." 

**Author's Note:**

> any comments are appreciated! come follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/nuestology) and stop by my [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/ceedlessmelon) if you have any questions ╰(▔∀▔)╯
> 
> p.s. i might write a sequel or a spinoff based on this fic!!
> 
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